Barack Obama has suggested that the owner of the Washington Redskins American
football team consider changing its name, because it offends “a sizable
group of people.”

The US president’s intervention added to growing criticism of the name for being offensive to Native Americans.

Mr Obama, an avid sports fan, said he did not think Redskins fans intended to cause offence.

But he added: "I've got to say that if I were the owner of the team and I knew that there was a name of my team - even if it had a storied history - that was offending a sizeable group of people, I'd think about changing it."

In a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press, he continued: "But I don't want to detract from the wonderful Redskins fans that are here.

"They love their team, and rightly so - even though they've been having a pretty tough time this year.

"But I think - all these mascots and team names related to Native Americans, Native Americans feel pretty strongly about it. And I don't know whether our attachment to a particular name should override the real, legitimate concerns that people have about these things."

Mr Obama's comments will add to mounting pressure on the Washington Redskins to change its name.

Some media outlets have announced they will no longer use the name in their coverage of the National Football League (NFL), while the boss of a rival side said in August that it was “very derogatory to a lot of people”.

Since adopting the name 80 years ago, when based in Boston, the Redskins have won three Super Bowls and become one of the sport’s richest teams, valued at $1.5 billion (£960 million).

Yet they have long been criticised by Native American groups, two of which have sued the club in an attempt to change its name and force it to remove the image of a “redskin” - a controversial term used to describe a Native American - from its logo.

In May, ten members of Congress wrote to Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner, asking him to “take a stand against the use of the word 'redskin’ as the Washington franchise’s name”.

The team is believed to have recruited Frank Luntz, the conservative political consultant, to conduct focus-groups with members of the public on whether the name is acceptable.

However on the rare occasions that he has addressed the controversy, Dan Snyder, the owner of the Redskins, has rejected calls for a change. “We’ll never change the name,” he said earlier this year. “It’s that simple.”

Mr Snyder has the backing of Mr Goodell.

In his response to the congressmen he described the name as “a unifying force that stands for strength, courage, pride and respect”.